1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dispensers for spraying aerosol products supplied in pressurized canisters and more particularly to a pistol-shaped dispenser that receives the canister and is trigger actuated to release the product spray in a direction along the axis of the canister.
2. Description of Prior Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Many types of dispensers are known for dispensing aerosol products from pressurized canisters that have a top mounted axial stem which is depressible to release the product spray. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,812, issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Brody; U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,954, issued Feb. 11, 1992 to Brody; U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,985, issued Oct. 13, 1998 to Brody; U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,937, issued Jun. 28, 1994 to Brody; U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,474, issued Feb. 21, 1984 to Hutchinson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,707, issued Nov. 30, 1999 to Galchuk; Pat. No. Des. 283,801, issued May 13, 1986 to Brown; Pat. No. Des. 287,394, issued Dec. 23, 1986 to Yamamoto U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,058, issued Jun. 11, 2002 to Kaneko and U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,963, issued May 10, 1988 to Marvaldi.
All of those dispensers are designed to release the product in a direction that is perpendicular to the axis of the canister. Since the stem is axially extending from the top of the canister, either a nozzle mounted on the stem or the dispenser itself must contain structure that redirects the product spray 90 degrees from the stem. Redirecting the spray in that manner diminishes the energy of the spray and hence the distance and spread of the spray.
Dispensers of that type are cumbersome because the canister is not received within the body of the dispenser but instead hangs down from the bottom of the dispenser. The dispensers are therefore not properly balanced, making them difficult to manipulate. They may require both hands to operate. Further, those dispensers tend not to be aesthetically pleasing in appearance.
Since the canister hangs down from the dispenser, it is necessary to have the dispenser engage the top of the canister securely to avoid having the canister accidentally dislodge from the dispenser. That requires a mechanical canister engagement mechanism which is capable of releasing the canister such that it can be removed from the dispenser when necessary for replacement or storage. However, given the need to securely engage the canister to retain the canister when fully loaded, the canister engagement mechanisms of the prior art dispensers are often difficult to release to permit the canister to be disengaged.
Those disadvantages are overcome by the structure of the present invention.